Stackable container



NOV. 25, 1969 A KOBOLDT STACKABLE CONTAINER Filed Jan. 19, 1968 r a n 6m f Melvin affooldi United States Patent 3,480,195 STACKABLE CONTAINERMelvin A. Koboldt, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to Container Corporation ofAmerica, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 19, 1968,Ser. No. 699,154 Int. Cl. B65d 3/10 US. Cl. 2295.5 4 Claims ABSTRACT OFTHE DISCLOSURE A tubular can with a fibrous body portion has a metal topaflixed onto one end to provide an outside top diameter the same as thebody of the tube. The bottom has an inner recessed portion having adiameter enabling it to fit snugly within the tube. The bottom also hasa flared section of larger diameter to provide a portion having aninside diameter slightly greater than the outside diameter of the top ofthe can to enable the bottom portion to fit outside the top of a similarcan for secure stacking.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved form of tubularcontainer having a body of paperboard or other suitable sheet material,and having metal end closures of a simple and effective form which fitor interlock telescopically with closures of similar containers, thus toprovide a form of container with good stacking qualities.

I Another object of the invention is to provide a container of tubularform having an upright side wall or body portion formedof distendablesheet material, such ,as paperboard, which may be distended,particularly when. moistened, such tube being closed at its upper end bya metal closure affixed onto the tube, and closed at its bottom end by arecessed metal closure having an upper portion fitting relatively snuglywithin the tube, and having a lower portion including an outwardlyflaring section which is forced into the tube end to spread or distendit sufliciently to cause the lower end of the tube to have its insidediameter increased suificiently so that the bottom of the container mayfit telescopically around the top of a similar container to assure goodstacking.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tubular containerhaving a side wall or body portion of sheet material, combined with aninwardly recessed, metallic bottom closure which includes a downwardlyextending, relatively straight skirt section and an adjacent portionterminating in an afl'ixed rim, the tubular side wall being separablealong a line intermediate the upper and lower ends of the skirt section,whereby the major upper portion of the tubular container forms a coverthat may be lifted from the bottom closure and thereafter readilyreplaced telescopically onto the upper part of the skirt section of theclosure.

A still further object is to provide an effective method of producing areadily stackable form of tubular container by moistening at least oneend portion of a tube of fibrous material and forcing thereinto arecessed closure having an oversized, flaring portion that distends thetube end portion and remains in place, such oversized portion of theclosure having an internal dimension suflrcient to fit telescopicallyover the upper end of a similar tubular container.

Other and more specific objects and advantages of the invention willbecome apparent from the following description, and the drawings, inwhich FIGURE 1 is an elevational view showing two containers as theyappear in stacked arrangement;

3,480,195 Patented Nov. 25, 1969 FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary enlarged,sectional view, taken on line 22 of FIGURE 1, showing the bottom closureof one container in interfitting relation with the top of a similarcontainer.

The container of the present invention is particularly well suited forthe hermetic packaging of food products such, for example, as upstandingcakes which are often prepared in layers, and which may be dispensed orserved in slices, frequently for consumption over a period of severaldays. The container is preferably opened along a severance line near thebase, and the top of the container, together with a major portion of theside wall is lifted off the base as a cover when portions of the cakeare to be served. As the cake rests on the bottom closure panel which isupwardly spaced from the surface upon which the container may be placed,the operation of slicing the cake and serving separate slices isfacilitated. When a desired amount of the cake has been served, theremainder may be preserved by replacing the cover portion of thecontainer telescopically over the close-fitting, upstanding part of thebottom closure, thus restoring the container to approximately itsoriginal contents protective condition.

In FIGURE 1 two identically constructed containers A and B are shown instacked relation. The body or side wall of the container, indicated at 1for the lower container and at 1a for the upper container, is formedfrom suitable fibrous sheet material, such as paperboard.

A satisfactory side wall construction may comprise convolute woundpaperboard tubes formed by board of relatively high bursting or tearingstrength and capable of being appreciably drawn or distended, permittingan oversize portion of the bottom closure to be forced into the tubewith a consequent increase in the tube circumference at the bottom endof the container.

In the finished form of the container a label 2 is preferably applied byadhesive to completely surround the tube. Prior to the application ofthe label the tube is preferably formed with a separation line or cut,indicated at 3; and a tear string 4, which completely surrounds thetube, is located near the cut 3. A short section of the tear string isallowed to project at the label joint so that the string may be readilygrasped and pulled to sever the label entirely around the tube and tofacilitate removal of the upper portion of the container from the lowerportion along the cut line 3. The particular method of assembling thetear string and the label on the tubular container wall forms no part ofthe present invention.

The top closure 5 of the container, as herein shown, comprises a shapedpanel or disk having an annular groove formed by wall sections 6, 7 and8. The wall section 8 terminates in a downwardly extending flange orring section 9. The upper end of the container wall is received withinthe inverted U-shaped channel formed by sections 8 and 9 and the closureis secured by a suitable aflixing mechanism, thus forming the upper rimof the container. 7

In forming this rim the flange section 9 may be indented partly into thetubular side wall by the action of the aflixing mechanism so that theoutside surface of the rim is approximately flush with the major portionof the side wall outer surface.

As herein shown, the bottom closure 10 comprises disk 11 having adiameter approximately equal to the interior diameter of the tubularside wall 1a. The closure 10 is shaped to include a depending skirtsection 12. This terminates in an annular, outwardly flaring section 13which joins with a straight flange section 14 forming the inside of therim portion of the bottom closure. The outer surface of the rim isprovided by section 15 which, with section 14, forms an upright U-shapedchannel to sections 14 and are firmly secured onto the tube end a byaffixing mechanism.

The bottom closure may be assembled with fibrous sheet material tubesections by assembling the closure while the plies are still moist fromthe moisture in the glue used in joining the plies, or a short length ofthe tube may be moistened just prior to the assembly with the closure,so that the end portion of the tube will be distended when the annularflaring section 13 is forced into the tube end.

The inside diameter of the lower rim of the tube, defined by the closuresections 14 and 15, is of such size as to permit the lower rim to fitreadily over the upper rim of a similar container, thus to achieve goodstacking results.

In the fabrication of the containers a relatively long tube may first beformed upon a rotating mandrel. The separation lines, .as indicated at 3may then be made by cutting through the tube stock, and the tear stringsand label sheet will next be applied. The long tube may then be cut intosections of the desired length for the individual containers. The openended tubes thus formed are then ready for assembly with the bottomclosures. The top closures are applied by the packer after the cake orother commodity has been placed within the container.

When the containers have been filled and sealed they are ready fordelivery to retail stores where the filled containers may readily bestacked for display and sale.

When the purchaser desires to open the container, this is readily doneby severing the label with the tear string completely around thecontainer. The main body portion of the container which is above the outline 3 is then free to be lifted from the bottom closure, thus leavingthe article, such as cake, resting upon the disk portion 11 of thebottom closure. Any remaining portion of the cake not immediately usedmay be kept in good condition by returning the upper part or cover ofthe container to its original position in which the lower end is slippedover the upstanding skirt section 12 of the bottom closure.

It is obvious that, if desired, the lower end portion of the tube whichfits around the outwardly flaring section 13 can be formed from sheetmaterial other than that from which the upper portion of the tube isformed. Thus, the severance line 3, instead of being a line of out, canbe the line of contact of the separate tubular portions.

It is to be understood that materials employed for the closures mayinclude tinplate, aluminum, plastic compounds, and paper and plasticcombinations.

While the description has referred to cylindrical containers, it isobvious that the same principles of construc tion may be employed in theformation of containers of other specific shapes.

It is to be understood that reference to downwardly extending orupwardly extending sections or portions is for convenience ofdescription, and that it is not intended that such terms shall beconsidered in a limited sense.

If desired, the vertical positions of the containers can be reversed.

I claim:

1. A container comprising in combination:

(a) a cylindrical tube of sheet material forming the side wall of thecontainer;

(b) the major portion of the tube, including its upper end, beingrelatively straight and of generally uniform diameter;

(c) the lower end portion of the tube being outwardly flared;

(d) a recessed bottom closure comprising:

(i) a disk section received within the straight por- .4 tion of the tubeabove the flared portion;

(ii) a generally straight skirt section extending downwardly from thedisk section with its lower end adjacent the junction of the flaredportion and straight portion of the tube;

(iii) an outwardly flared section below the straight skirt section andreceived in close fitting relation within the flared end portion of thetube;

(iv) a generally straight rim section extending downwardly from theflared section, such rim section having an internal dimension slightlygreater than the external dimension of the upper end of the tube,whereby such rim section may fit telescopically over the upper end of asimilar container to provide secure stacking.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1, in which the tube has a topclosure of sheet material, such closure including a rim member securedto the upper end of the tube, the outer surface of such rim member beingsubstantially flush with the adjacent outer surface of the tube.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1, in which the tube has a line ofseparation intermediate the upper and lower edges of the straight skirtsection, whereby the major upper portion of the tube above theseparation line comprises a removable cover.

4. A container comprising in combination:

(a) a cylindrical tube of sheet material forming the side wall of thecontainer;

(b) the major portion of the tube, including its upper end, beingrelatively straight and of generally uniform diameter;

(c) the lower end portion of the tube being outwardly flared;

(d) a recessed bottom closure comprising:

(i) a disk section received within the straight portion of the tubeabove the flared portion;

(ii) a generally straight skirt section of generally uniform diameterextending downwardly from the disk section with its lower end adjacentthe junction of the flared portion and straight portion of the tube;

(iii) an outwardly flared section below the straight skirt sectionreceived in close fitting relation within the flared end portion of thetube;

(iv) said flared section having an internal dimension slightly greaterthan the external dimension of the upper end of the tube, whereby saidflared section may fit telescopically over the upper end of a similarcontainer to provide secure stacking.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/ 1924 Snyder 229-5.6 10/ 1939Aument 229-5 .6 11/1956 Lewis 220-97 11/ 1966 Tinker 229-3.6

4/1967 Bracht 2295.6

FOREIGN PATENTS 12/ 1943 Czechoslovakia.

3/ 1953 France. 9/ 1964 Germany.

